The environment test: what Sussex needs devolution to deliver

The story of Sussex’s environment is one of paradox: nationally treasured landscapes next to stressed rivers, depleted seas, and towns that overheat and flood more often than they should. We’ve got the South Downs and the High Weald, a long and economically vital coastline, and a growing ecosystem of climate, nature and circular-economy innovators. But we also have a system that still often behaves as if nature recovery is a ‘nice extra’ – something you do after the real work of growth.

As part of the Sussex And The city project, three recent conversations point to a clear argument for how local devolution, starting with the election of a Mayor in 2026, could put biodiversity and the green economy front and centre. Sustainability expert, and co-founder of Circular Brighton & Hove, Steve Creed, brings the “forest floor” analogy of the circular economy: in nature, waste isn’t a category, it’s a design failure. Jenny Anderson, founder of West Sussex’ Really Regenerative Centre CIC pushes the bioregional, regenerative lens: Sussex doesn’t need more short-term projects, it needs a new way of organising around living systems. And Graham Precey, corporate social impact expert and leader of the campaign to decarbonize the Newhaven-Dieppe ferry crossing lands it in hard infrastructure: you can’t decarbonise a place with speeches; you do it through the economy of ports, ferries, freight, procurement and practical collaboration.

Devolution is a chance to move environment from being a worthy agenda to a core engine of resilience, skills, investment and civic confidence – but only if the new mayor treats it as public policy, not decoration.

Sussex nature is a huge regional advantage

Sussex has more going for it than we sometimes admit. We’re a proper mosaic: chalk downland and woodland, productive farmland, dense urban areas, harbours and coastal waters, plus “real economy” infrastructure like Gatwick, Shoreham and Newhaven. That mix is exactly what makes Sussex a serious testbed for a joined-up green transition.

But right now the work is scattered. The region is full of strong initiatives — from Sussex Bay and marine restoration momentum, to practical circular and community-led approaches to food, housing and land. What we don’t have is a single, coherent system that connects these efforts into something bigger than the sum of their parts. Like Steve Creed puts it on the Sussex And The City podcast: we tend to operate in a “star strategy” – lots of good things radiating outward, not enough pulling in the same direction.

The risk with pan-Sussex leadership is flattening local distinctiveness. A mayoral settlement has to do the opposite: protect local identity and agency, while building the connective tissue that lets innovation travel across the county.

A pipeline, not a slogan: circular economy and green skills

If you want nature recovery at scale, you need people with skills to deliver it – and a local economy that rewards low-waste practice instead of treating it as optional.

A useful mayoral priority would be to build a green skills pipeline that links:

• retrofit and heat decarbonisation training (with real placements, not just brochures)

• nature recovery and land management roles (practical restoration work, monitoring, river and coastal projects)

• circular economy enterprise (repair, remanufacture, materials recovery, local supply chains)

• data and systems capability (measurement, dashboards, “what’s working?” transparency)

This is where the economy and environment stop being rivals. Done well, the green transition becomes a route into decent work; especially for places that have been stuck with low-wage, low-security options.

An ecosystem, not a collection of projects

Jenny Anderson’s podcast interview is uncomfortable but deeply useful: she says we keep defaulting to projects because they’re containable, fundable and easy to announce. But living systems don’t work like that, and neither does long-term place change.

A regenerative approach starts by asking what Sussex is as a whole: its bioregions, its patterns of land and water, its distinctive strengths, and its relationship to neighbours across the Channel. It builds relationship before task, and it measures success by whether the place is becoming more capable of sustaining life — not just whether a KPI spreadsheet is tidy.

That doesn’t mean abandoning economics. It means modernising it. If we keep measuring success purely through short-term growth metrics, we will keep designing a Sussex that looks productive on paper while becoming less liveable in reality. (And if that sounds theoretical, try pricing up flood risk, overheating homes, or water quality failure.)

Infrastructure matters: ports, ferries and the “real economy”

Graham Precey’s ferry story is the perfect reminder that decarbonisation is not a lifestyle brand.

The Newhaven–Dieppe ferry is a 200-year link carrying hundreds of thousands of passengers and freight. Graham’s point is blunt: real economy decisions create real emissions, and real opportunities. Decarbonising a route like that isn’t just about carbon; it’s about tourism, trade, jobs, and Sussex’s ability to work across borders in a pragmatic way.

For a new Sussex mayor, this is the sort of issue that tests whether devolution is serious:

• can you convene public, private and civic partners around a shared mission?

• can you shift procurement and funding towards low-carbon outcomes?

• can you make “strategic infrastructure” mean something beyond roads and planning rows?

If Sussex wants a reputation for climate leadership, it can’t just be policy-heavy and delivery-light. It needs a couple of visible, measurable, “we actually fixed it” missions.

If the next mayor wants quick wins, make them practical: invest in the green skills pipeline, publish a clear public dashboard, back the mission-scale demonstrations, and protect the local networks already doing the work.

Sussex is ready to deliver. It just needs the right levers.

To listen to expert opinion and insight, and to catch up on everything you need to know about devolution in Sussex and Brighton, visit sussexandthecity.info.